How is it transmitted and who gets sick?
The virus is transmitted by airborne droplets when coughing and sneezing, as well as through hands and objects: it remains on surfaces for several hours. You can get sick many times during your life, because stable immunity is not formed, but repeated episodes are usually easier. The incidence increases during the cold season. Most often, the virus is brought into the family by older children from kindergarten and school, and infants in their first months suffer the most severe infection. Adults often experience it like a common cold, unaware of the cause.
- Airborne and contact transmission routes
- Seasonal rise in the cold season
- Repeated infections throughout life
- Family source - often older children
- It is most severe in children under 6 months and in the elderly
Symptoms
The disease begins like a common cold: nasal congestion, profuse discharge, sneezing, low temperature, coughing. In children over two years of age and adults, this is usually limited. In infants, after a few days, the cough intensifies, breathing becomes more frequent, whistling and wheezing appear, sometimes heard at a distance. The baby sucks worse because a stuffy nose and shortness of breath make it difficult to breathe during feeding. In very young children, the first manifestation may not be a cough, but lethargy, refusal to eat, or short-term stoppages of breathing.
- Runny nose and nasal congestion
- Cough, initially dry
- Low temperature
- Rapid breathing and wheezing in infants
- Retraction of intercostal spaces
- Poor sucking and decreased feeding
- Apnea in children of the first months
When is an examination needed?
The diagnosis in typical cases is made based on the clinical picture, and laboratory confirmation of the virus usually does not affect treatment tactics. More important is the assessment of severity: respiratory rate, participation of accessory muscles, blood oxygen saturation by pulse oximetry, ability to drink and suck. A chest X-ray is not prescribed for everyone, but in cases of suspected pneumonia, prolonged fever or deterioration. A complete blood count helps distinguish a viral infection from a bacterial one. Rapid tests and PCR are used in hospitals and in risk groups to properly accommodate patients.
- Examination with respiratory rate calculation
- Pulse oximetry to assess oxygen saturation
- General blood test if the picture is unclear
- Chest X-ray according to indications
- Laboratory determination of the virus in a hospital
- Assessing signs of dehydration
Treatment
There are no drugs that kill respiratory syncytial virus at home, so treatment is aimed at alleviating the condition. The main thing is to support nasal breathing with saline solutions and an aspirator, feed more often and in smaller portions, drink a lot, and reduce the high temperature as prescribed by the doctor. Antibiotics do not work for viral infections and are prescribed only if there is a proven bacterial complication. The effectiveness of inhalations with bronchodilators for bronchiolitis is limited; they are not used by everyone and at the discretion of the doctor. In the hospital, in severe cases, they give humidified oxygen and, if necessary, replenish fluid.
- Toilet the nose with saline and aspirator
- Frequent small feedings and plenty of fluids
- Antipyretics as prescribed by a doctor
- Humidification and ventilation of the room
- Oxygen and infusions in the hospital for severe cases
- Antibiotics - only for bacterial complications
- Quitting smoking in the home
Prevention and what happens next
The main measures are simple: wash your hands before contact with the baby, do not bring the child in the first months to crowded places during the cold season, do not kiss the face if you have a runny nose, do not smoke in the apartment, and, if possible, isolate older children who are sick. For children from high-risk groups, there are monoclonal antibody preparations for seasonal prophylaxis; the question of their use is decided by the pediatrician. After bronchiolitis, cough and episodes of wheezing during colds may recur for several months; This is not asthma, but the child should be seen by a pediatrician.
- Hand washing and surface hygiene
- Limiting infant contact during cold season
- Isolation of sick family members
- Stop smoking indoors
- Breastfeeding as immune support
- Seasonal prophylaxis in high-risk children as prescribed by a doctor